Peter Ustinov

Peter Usintov or Peter Alexander Freiheer von Ustinov was born in London England on 16 April, 1921. His genealogy included Russian nobility and Ethiopian royalty. Ustinov's family immigrated in 1921 after the Communist revolution and Peter was born in the United States. He was fluent in French, Russian, Italian and German as well as English. He took drama and acting classes under Michel St. Denis and made his stage debut in 1938. His film debut was in Hullo, Fame! in 1940. Usintov was batman for David Niven in WWII and the two became lifelong friends. Ustinov spend most of this war service working with the Army Cinema United. He make recruitment films and wrote plays. He wrote and directed The Way Ahead in 1944.

Ustinov appeared in more than 100 films and television programs. He won two Oscars for Best Supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960 and again in Topkapi in 1964. In 1978 he played Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile, Evil Under the Sun in 1982 and Appointment with Death in 1988. He was a sympathetic doctor in Lorenzo's Oil in 1992.

In 1986 Ustinov produced Russia, a well-received BBC television series. His autobiographic books Dear Me in 1977 and My Russia in 1996 brought out deep observations about his life and career. He wrote and directed stage plays and his autobiographic play Photo Finish staged in St. Petersburg, London and New York.

Ustinov was a good will ambassador for UNICEP and president of WFM. In 1990, Ustinov was knighted. He lived in Bursins, Vaud, Switzerland until his death on 28 March 2004 of heart failure. Ustinov was married to Isolde Denham, Suzanne Cloutier, and Helene de Lau d'Allemans. He has four surviving children.